Bait cast fishing reel bodies typically include a first handle side on which a line retrieval handle or crank is exposed, a second side opposite the first side, a spool rotatably supported between the first and second side and a strut or bridge interconnecting the first and second sides forward the spool. To retrieve fishing line using a right handed reel, the user will typically grasp the second side of the reel with his or her left hand while rotating the handle with his or her right hand. With left handed reels, the user's hands are reversed.
Although extremely popular, conventional bait cast fishing reels are often difficult and fatiguing to grasp and hold, especially after prolonged use or when fighting and reeling in a fish. In an attempt to reduce this fatigue and to improve the user's grasp, some fishing reel bodies include a thumb rest portion supported by the strut or bridge. In an attempt to further reduce fatigue and improve the user's grasp, some fishing reel bodies additionally form the thumb rest portion as well as the second side from soft material. An example of such a fishing reel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,978. However, neither providing a thumb rest portion nor forming the thumb rest portion and the second side out of a soft material adequately reduce fatigue or improve the user's grasp of the reel body.
Thus, there is a continuing need for a fishing reel body and, in particular, a side of a fishing reel body opposite the handle side which is easy to grasp and which is less fatiguing on the user's hand, thumb and fingers.